an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope.

the body of ecclesiastical law.

the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted as axiomatic and universally binding in a field of study or art

the neoclassical canon.

a fundamental principle or general rule

the canons of good behavior.

a standard; criterion

the canons of taste.

the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired.

any officially recognized set of sacred books.

any comprehensive list of books within a field.

the works of an author that have been accepted as authentic

There are 37 plays in the Shakespeare canon. Compare apocrypha def. 3

a catalog or list, as of the saints acknowledged by the Church.

Liturgy . the part of the Mass between the Sanctus and the Communion.

Eastern Church . a liturgical sequence sung at matins, usually consisting of nine odes arranged in a fixed pattern.

Music . consistent, note-for-note imitation of one melodic line by another, in which the second line starts after the first.

Printing . a 48-point type.

noun

assize , catalogue , command , commandment , criterion , declaration , decree , decretum , dictate , doctrine , dogma , formula , law , list , maxim , order , ordinance , precept , principle , regulation , roll , screed , standard , statute , table , tenet , touchstone , [[yardsticknotes:a cannon is a large mounted artillery gun or a large artillery gun that is on wheels that fires heavy projectiles while a canon is an ecclesiastical law or code of laws established by a church council or a priest who is a member of a cathedral chapter]] , ana , analects , anthology , chrestomathy , classics , collected works , delectus , library , miscellanea , oeuvre , [[worksnotes:a cannon is a large mounted artillery gun or a large artillery gun that is on wheels that fires heavy projectiles while a canon is an ecclesiastical law or code of laws established by a church council or a priest who is a member of a cathedral chapter]] , edict , institute , prescription , rule , axiom , code , constitution , decision , model